For storing and applying a small quantity of a liquid, a device is commercially available which includes a container in the form of a so-called "blister package". Two separate recesses are formed in the deep-drawn part of the package which is closed by a removable sheet. The first, smaller one of the recesses contains a quantity, e.g. 0.2 ml, of a liquid while the other, larger recess houses a brush. Upon removal of the sheet, the two container recesses are exposed so that the brush can be taken out and used to apply the liquid to the treatment site. The liquid is a dental substance for application in one single tooth treatment.
The stiff part of the blister package renders the known package comparatively bulky, which is undesired under storage and waste aspects; moreover, the package is relatively expensive to manufacture.
A further disadvantage of the known package resides in the fact that the brush and the liquid are accessible only after the flexible sheet has been removed from the stiff part of the blister package. The liquid is then exposed at a relatively large surface. Since the stiff part of the package is light and of little stability, there is the risk of the liquid being spilled due to careless handling, e.g. at the time when the brush is taken out.
EP 0 049 553 A1 discloses a package for separately storing two liquid components with a mixing instrument contained in the package. The package is made of two sheets that are sealed together at their edges, and the separation between the two container portions, each of which contains one component, is achieved by an externally applied clamping cleat. Upon removal of the cleat, the liquids are mixed by operating the instruments contained in the package. The finished mixture may be dispensed from a snout formed on the package. An application instrument is not disclosed.
WO 89/07053 discloses another device for storing and applying a liquid. A brush is disposed in a part of a cap which closes a liquid container. By removing the cap, the brush is accessible for applying the liquid. This arrangement is expensive and costly due to the large number of individual parts and the complicated shape of the cap. It is also for this reason, that the device is unsuited for small quantities of liquid used in a single working step.
A two-compartment container made of sheet material is known from DE 31 22 237 A1 wherein one compartment holds a liquid and the other holds part of a brush. The two compartments are always in communication with each other via a bore which extends through a shaft of the brush which is fixed in the device. For opening the container, the portion of the compartment surrounding the brush hairs is broken away, whereupon the remainder of the container forms an application brush with a handle containing a supply of the liquid.
DE 33 10 215 A1 shows an array of sheet containers disposed one behind the other, with each container having a compartment for holding a liquid and a handle with a blade provided therein. Upon tearing off a container, the blade contained in the handle of the next container slits open the compartment of the container being torn off. An application instrument is not provided.
DE 37 17 512 A1 discloses a three-compartment container of sheet material, wherein two of the compartments are disposed upon each other and contain two liquids to be mixed while the third compartment is disposed laterally and serves as a mixing compartment.